Bringing A Car Into CA

You might post this in the California forum for more responses, but I think the answer is 'yes' - the car has to have more than 7500 miles. I believe the rationale is that people would buy nearly new cars that avoid CA emissions regulations.

Maybe if you're going to park it and not drive it (<7500 miles on a 16 year old car is basically furniture mileage...) you can get some kind of exemption. Or if you have a residence in another state as well that could be a legal way around this.

 

Actually if the car meets/has CA emissions you don't have to wait until it has reached 7500 miles. I brought in an '03 MR2 Spyder with 6154 miles on the odometer in February of this year with zero difficulties - but that is a 50-state emissions car. Given the age of the F40 there may be other rules in place that supercede what I had to satisfy.

>8^)
ER

 

HELLO.....My name is Jacques..I've had this experience first hand..including the fines for not immediatle registering with the dmv...I bought an M/B in Florida iflorida wherer I also have a residence and keep my 1980 400i licensed...I drove the Benz to L.A. where i live, and drove it with
fl. tags as they're called in
fl....everything went fine for about three months or so..now dig this..a weekeek-end CHP cadet saw the car..so we know tht they'll see the F car...the Ca law is.. that is ..that if you are a Ca. reident, or areemployed in .ca., you owe the sales tax again andowe th license fees auinstante the front bumper crosses the state line..regardless whether the car is towed,driven, stored, even if you don't plan to driveit in Ca....period ...I did, and the penalty is DOUBLE the initial yearly normal fee..plus, in my case,,an aditional$500or $600 penalty..and....the car is impounded on the spot.and towed by the "official police Garage"..in the crudestand rudest possible fashion..tow ing fees are well in access of $100, storage fees of at least $100 per day..and the system is designed to take about a week to get max f fees by the garage and there is absolututely nothing that you can do about shortening the prossess..plus the the real heart-breaker is that you have Zero access to you car (bullet-proof glass cages and all)...And by the way...if the carwas locked when impounded, they shuffle it around for numerous times with a fork-lift..getit?..gotit?...Good!!!...this is first-hand..not hearsay...if you have any concerns as to the verasity, drive by the oficcial first and see for your-self...wre're boned...but...just remember"self bonage is the worst bonage of all"..your friend Jacques..over...

 

I'm not sure... I hear a lot of people buying new Z06's out of state so that they don't have to deal with the ridiculous CA dealer markup. Let's face it - demand *is* lower in Kansas than it is in California! Those people are buying the car out of state, and then shipping it or driving it back home to CA. Certainly, the cars have less than 7500 miles. Perhaps the key here is whether the car is 50-state legal or not, like previously mentioned.

 

I've purchased several cars out of state both new and used. On the new ones if they are 50 state legal you just have to have them smogged and then the normal registration process which includes the sales tax. No big deal but the registration process must start within 10 days of entering California.

On a 1990 car I am not sure about the process. Regardless they would have to pass smog for California standards.

 

Talk to rick, "zsnnf" and there is another person up here with an F40 who might be able to give you all of the 411 on this !

 

Go into the engine compartment and look at the placard concerning emissions requirements. If the F40 has less than 7,500 original miles on the odometer, the placard must state that the car meets State of CA ARB requirements for that particular model year. It is not enough that the language states the the car meets Federal emissions requirements as the ARB does NOT interpret this as being a 50 State car.

You can PM me for more details.

 

Also it should be noted that if the car is not 50-State legal and you buy it out of state with less than 7,500 miles, you can not use the mileage you accumulate driving the car back from it's point of sale to CA to satisfy the minimum.

That had been my plan with the MR2 if it wasn't good to go since it was so close to 7,500, but the CA DMV actually uses the mileage written on the odometer statement at the time of sale as the mileage figure, not what's on the odometer when you pull it into the DMV parking lot to complete the paperwork.

>8^)
ER

 

They detail this on the CA DMV site so checks it out.....

 

Where did this happen? What part of CA? Did you do anything to piss off the cop? I've seen a similar situation where a person drove an out-of-state registered car (to get around smog rules, not taxes) with a CA driver's license for years with out hassle, including getting CHP speeding tickets.

 

This is a no brainer revenue generator these days. If they see out-of-state plates you're a suspect and guilty till proven innocent.

 

I think you are "missing something".

What is relevant to the DMV is the smog certification. Mileage is irrelevant.

My 360 came in with 4,331 miles!

If the F40 does not have a CA barcode, you'll not get it passed the DMV!

 

Wouldn't it make sense to clarify that before making the trip?? Good luck with the purchase.

 

All I know is that in Los Angeles, every 6th car has out-of-state plates - seriously. That's why I asked where the Nazi CHP car-towing thing took place... but no response yet from "Jacques".

Another reason join 11-99 Foundation?